Trump makes an odd choice for White House communications director

Donald Trump’s first choice for White House communications director was Jason Miller, who worked with the Republican during the campaign, but who unexpectedly withdrew before Inauguration Day due to personal troubles.

In February, the president turned to Mike Dubke, the founder of a Republican consulting firm called Crossroads Media, to serve as communications director, but Dubke quit after three months.

The Trump administration is expected to name former Trump transition team official Anthony Scaramucci as White House communications director, four sources in and close to the White House told NBC News Thursday.

The news of the expected appointment was first reported by Axios. A White House official said the move is expected to be announced Friday.

If Scaramucci’s name sounds familiar, it’s probably because you’ve seen him on television several times, defending Trump in dubious ways. My personal favorite came in December on MSNBC, when Scaramucci, hoping to provide cover for Trump’s routine departures from the truth, said in all seriousness, “Don’t take him literally, take him symbolically. See, it’s different.”

Scaramucci, one of six Goldman Sachs veterans with prominent positions in the administration despite Trump using the finance giant as a campaign punching bag, was initially supposed to serve in the White House Office of Public Liaison – the president wanted him to be Team Trump’s “liaison” to the business community – but Chief of Staff Reince Priebus reportedly scuttled the move.

As for Scaramucci’s qualifications as a communications professional, he doesn’t seem to have any, never having worked in political communications aside from occasional television appearances on Trump’s behalf.

That, evidently, was enough to impress the president, who hasn’t taken qualifications too seriously anyway.